December 19, 2012

The SpongeBob Diner Dash app was pulled from Apple’s iTunes app store this week after a privacy advocate group complained it had violated children’s privacy rights.

Nickelodeon removed the app after the Center for Digital Democracy contacted the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a complaint.

The Center for Digital Democracy said children’s e-mail addresses had been collected without parental consent.

“The SpongeBob Diner Dash game asks children to provide a wide range of personal information, including full name, email address, and other online contact information, without providing notice to parents or obtaining prior parental consent, as required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act,” a statement by the organization reads.

Children’s app Mobbles was temporarily pulled last week after the organization filed a similar complaint with the FTC.

Google Maps for iOS Downloaded 10M-Plus Times in Two Days

Google Maps for iOS was downloaded more than 10 million times less than 48 hours after its release, Google has announced.

“We’re excited for the positive reception of Google Maps for iPhone around the world,” writes Google’s Jeff Huber in a Google+ post. “Congratulations to the Maps team on the recognition for the passion and hard work they poured into it, for this release and over the last seven-plus years.”

Google launched the app Dec. 13 in response to Apple’s decision to replace the search engine’s app with its own. Apple’s Maps app has been widely criticized for its errors and inaccuracies.